The Apothecary's Secret

by Johanna Geiges

  ‘An unfortunate accident,’ Brother Thomas said.

  ‘Or a strap someone had doctored. It doesn’t look like a rip to me. In that case it would have been more frayed,’ Anna commented.

  This may have been Gero’s doing. Gero as Baron Meinhard von Geldern, Anna thought. She knew he was capable of such a wicked deed. But why? Because he wanted to be the winner of the tournament at any cost? Surely he could not have known that he would be fighting Chassim in the final battle.

  ‘What happened, happened,’ Brother Thomas said. ‘Unfortunately such accidents occur every so often at tournaments, there’s nothing new in that.’

  Anna remained silent, but she could no longer believe it was an unfortunate accident.

  She turned to the grooms and handed them a few coins. ‘Thank you for your help and for the information. We may need you again when we come to fetch your master.’

  The two nodded and thanked her. Anna and Brother Thomas returned to the tent.

  ‘We must wake him up now,’ Anna said.

  Brother Thomas waited for the two grooms to be out of earshot and then stopped Anna, asking: ‘What did you mean when you spoke about fetching him? Surely Sir Chassim should be moved as little as possible.’

  Anna shook her head. ‘We can’t leave him lying in the tent. And whether he is taken to the castle or to our house amounts to the same. He needs care and someone must be with him constantly, especially at the outset in case he develops a fever or worse. I will talk to Count von Landskron and explain why it would be best if he were brought to our house. I wouldn’t have to go to the castle every day, and we could keep him under observation and have all the medicines handy in case the healing process does not go according to plan.’

  ‘Sounds reasonable,’ Brother Thomas grunted.

  They entered the tent. Brother Thomas prepared a vinegar sponge and handed it to Anna who held it under Chassim’s nose until he started to blink and moan and finally open his eyes.

  ‘Anna Ahrweiler,’ he said with a weak but blissful smile as if he had seen an angel. Anna gently put her finger on his lips and said: ‘Hush! Do not speak now. You have kept your leg.’

  ‘Please don’t go!’ he whispered and held her by her wrist.

  ‘I’m staying with you, don’t worry.’

  He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. ‘Thank you for being here. I feel immediately better.’ He frowned and lifted his head to look down on himself. Anna pushed him gently back onto the stretcher.

  ‘Is my leg really still there? I can’t feel it,’ he said with a moan.

  ‘Do not worry, everything is alright, sir,’ Brother Thomas replied before Anna had a chance. ‘Do you feel nauseous?’

  ‘Yes, I do,’ Chassim said, and started to heave.

  Brother Thomas pushed a reluctant Anna outside.

  ‘I will take care of that. Go and see the count instead and agree on where to take Count Chassim.’

  Anna could see that he was right, and while Brother Thomas hurried off to get a bucket she went up to Landskron Castle.

  Chapter XIII

  As Anna passed the tournament arena she noticed that they had already begun the dismantling the fairground. When she reached the middle of the field she saw Countess Ottgild von Landskron and her servant walking towards her. As soon as she spotted Anna she gathered her long dress and hurried towards her nervously, calling from afar, ‘Anna – how is he? Were you able to save his leg?’

  ‘For the time being, yes,’ Anna replied.

  ‘What do you mean – for the time being?’

  ‘It all depends on whether the wound heals. We set his leg with splints and looked after the wound as best we could. Beyond that everything lies in God’s hands.’

  ‘Can I see him?’ the countess asked.

  ‘Of course you can. But . . . if you didn’t mind there is something I would like to discuss with you. I have a suggestion as to how he could be best looked after. And for that I need your permission.’

  ‘Speak,’ the countess said.

  ‘I would like your brother to be taken to my house. There he can receive the best care.’

  ‘If he is agreeable . . .’ the countess said with a shrug. ‘I will commend him to you.’

  ‘I thank you. Now I ought to inform the count.’

  ‘My servant can do that – Rufus!’

  The countess beckoned her servant and instructed him. The man bowed briefly and returned to the castle.

  Together Anna and Countess Ottgild went back to the tent. As soon as they arrived, the countess immediately hurried to Chassim’s couch. ‘How are you, dearest brother?’ she asked gently.

  ‘Sister! How good to see you,’ he whispered and straightened up laboriously.

  ‘Has Brother Thomas told your honour of our plan?’ Anna asked.

  ‘Yes. I am looking forward to my move to the mysterious house of the medica. I will at last be able to experience the magic that you employ. Because people say that you are a sorceress.’ Chassim attempted a smile.

  Anna was briefly irritated.

  ‘People gossip viciously about things they don’t know the first thing about!’ Brother Thomas interjected with an apologetic glance at Ottgild. ‘Pardon, your honour.’

  Anna gave a sign to Brother Thomas and they both stepped out of the tent and left the siblings alone for the moment.

  Anna said: ‘You ride back home with the grooms and take my horse with you. Get the wagon set up and we will take Chassim with us later today. Tell Berbelin to prepare everything.’

  Brother Thomas nodded and left.

  Anna quickly prepared a drink made of opium poppy for her patient and took it into the tent. The countess was sitting on a stool next to the couch holding her brother’s hand. They both looked up as Anna approached.

  ‘Isn’t she an angel?’ said Chassim suddenly to his sister and Anna was so taken by surprise that she blushed.

  ‘Yes indeed, she is,’ Ottgild replied.

  But before Anna could manage to get over her embarrassment and reply Chassim began to speak again. ‘So tell us about your magic, Anna? People say all kinds of things, about miracle healings through the laying of hands in the case of a drowned girl for example.’

  ‘People talk nonsense. The fact that the girl is alive is not due to my efforts. It was God’s will alone.’

  Chassim suddenly grimaced, feeling a stab of pain again.

  ‘Drink this,’ said Anna handing him the cup with the potion.

  ‘It tastes terribly bitter,’ Chassim said. ‘I hope you’re not trying to poison me. What is this?’

  ‘A sleeping draught that will also cause the pain to abate and make you feel very tired and fall asleep. By the time you wake up you will already be at your new domicile.’

  ‘Is it your house?’ he asked.

  ‘Don’t expect too much. The next few days will decide whether you will keep your leg or not,’ Anna said emphatically.

  ‘And my life also,’ Chassim said seriously.

  ‘Yes, your life, too. Should your leg develop gangrene, and should you at the same time get a fever – then we will be forced to amputate. If it isn’t too late.’

  Chassim turned to Ottgild. ‘That’s what the medica is like, sister – she always tells you the truth. Even if it’s not too bright.’ Barely keeping his eyes open he continued: ‘But do you know what, Ottgild,’ he said with his eyes closed and barely whispering so that Anna had to put her ear to his lips to understand ‘. . . I think that I love her . . .’

  So softly did he utter the last words that Anna had to guess them, not sure that she had heard correctly. She hoped that Ottgild had not heard and said quickly: ‘It is the effect of the sleeping draught. He doesn’t know what he is saying any more.’

  Ottgild waited until Chassim had lost consciousness before she stood up. ‘What he said about people’s opinion of your miracle cures is true. The archbishop is supposed to have been making enquiries about you with t
he castle chaplain. I just wanted to warn you.’

  ‘The archbishop? What does he want from me?’

  ‘I presume that the castle chaplain informed him that you are under the special protection of my husband and the king. But you know that your healing arts are being talked about all the way to Cologne. People are notorious for spreading rumours.’

  ‘Your highness, how am I to defend myself against rumours? People want to believe in miracles. But you know that my work and my healing methods have nothing to do with miracles!’

  ‘I know that, and I think just the same as you. But when the castle chaplain questions my husband about these matters not even he can ignore it. Does the chaplain know you from before?’

  Before replying, Anna checked Chassim’s condition the way Aaron the medicus had taught her: she felt for a pulse at his throat and briefly lifted one of his eyelids. ‘If I am honest with you, your highness, yes. He knows me.’

  ‘And what does he have against you?’

  Anna shook her head. ‘It is to do with my past. And my past has now caught up with me. I cannot escape it, no matter what I do.’

  Anna then stepped out in front of the tent and watched as the glowing red sun disappeared behind dark clouds on the horizon. It had turned oppressive and stifling and the air seemed completely still. Even the birds had stopped singing.

  Ottgild came out behind her and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. ‘My husband and I will help you as best we can. But his power is limited, especially when a dignitary as high as the archbishop is involved who wants to find out more about you.’

  ‘There will soon be a thunderstorm,’ said Anna, lost in thought.

  ‘Yes,’ the countess agreed. ‘I sincerely hope you will manage to get my brother to your house in time.’

  And there they remained in silence, anxiously watching as the pitch-black cloud bank continued to build and roll threateningly towards them.

  The very moment they drove the cart over the wooden bridge to the medica’s house, the rain started. But Berbelin had already opened the barn doors, and they managed to arrive safe and dry before the deluge started. Brother Thomas jumped off the coach box and unhitched the horses. Anna remained in the cart with her patient who was sleeping on a soft bed of straw that was securely strapped down.

  The storm raged outside as Chassim’s grooms, who had accompanied them on horseback, lifted the stretcher off the wagon and carried it into the treatment room. There they transferred the patient as gently as possible to a thick, comfortable straw mattress covered with a sheet.

  At last they were all sitting in the kitchen hungrily eating freshly baked bread and the vegetable stew that Berbelin had cooked. Brother Thomas was doing his best to keep the company entertained, but Anna’s mind wandered.

  What did the archbishop want from her? Why had he been asking about her? If he took the miracle cures attributed to her seriously, and started an inquiry, things could get more than risky for her. Up to now she had hoped to start a new life in Oppenheim and forget her past as Brother Marian. But once Konrad von Hochstaden was on the scene again, all of that was in great danger. The more she thought about it, the more her fear grew that somebody might find out her true identity. Was the archbishop targeting her because he had heard from the castle chaplain about her remarkable reputation as a healer among the people of Oppenheim? A reputation that somehow formed the basis for all the speculation and demanded ecclesiastical investigation? Or had his nephew Gero been spying on her for quite some time without her realising it? Both were probably true, and the mere thought sent her into a naked panic.

  Brother Thomas observed anxiously how Anna fell to brooding more and more. He wondered whether she was worried about Chassim because she had fallen in love with him. He fully respected Anna for her knowledge and expertise as a healer, and would have walked over hot coals for her. But leaving aside her status as a medica, what remained was just a young girl, entirely inexperienced in matters of love, or so he presumed. Now, after the first stirrings of the heart caused by a good-looking rascal like Sir Chassim, she had fallen hopelessly in love and was totally at the mercy of her feelings. But of course he didn’t dare say that to her openly. Instead he decided to keep an eye on the development of this most dangerous liaison. If he felt obliged to anybody, it was to his medica and under no circumstances would he allow her to plunge herself into misfortune and perish. A count like Chassim, however honourable and knightly he had shown himself to be up to now, was after all only a man of flesh and blood. Not in a thousand years would he condescend to woo a woman of lower standing, no more than the Pope would declare ex cathedra that the earth circled the sun and not the other way round.

  Brother Thomas cursed the conflicted position into which he had put himself through his insight and experience of life. He had no choice but to mind the medica without patronising her because he knew well that the moment she felt that she was being told what to do she would stubbornly retreat into her shell. However, he owed it to her to protect her from herself, and if necessary he would have a serious word with her even at the risk of a quarrel or a major argument.

  Brother Thomas sighed deeply at the thought of such sombre prospects and took another draught of his beer.

  In the meantime the storm had blown over without causing serious damage, like a dragon that breathes fire, only to draw in its horns amidst much noise and hissing and disappear. It was still raining lightly when the two grooms asked whether they might come occasionally to visit their master. Then they mounted their horses and rode back to their quarters at the castle.

  It was time again to look after Chassim and Anna entered the treatment room with Brother Thomas. They found their patient awake. ‘I am very thirsty,’ he said with a weak voice and Anna signalled to Brother Thomas who hurried off to fetch some water. She sat down at Chassim’s side and felt his forehead. It was hot, almost glowing and immediately her worst fears were realised.

  ‘You have a fever, your highness,’ she stated trying to sound as casual as possible.

  ‘Is that serious?’ Chassim asked.

  Brother Thomas returned with a pitcher of water and a cup and helped him to drink.

  ‘No, your highness, it is a natural part of the healing process,’ Anna replied. ‘With luck the fever will not get worse and will go down after two or three days. Brother Thomas will fix a draught that will help you.’

  Anna took a clean cloth and dipped it into water to wipe his sweaty brow.

  When Brother Thomas disappeared, Chassim took Anna’s hand. ‘I can see that I am already in your house. How did you manage that?’ he asked.

  ‘You don’t need to worry. With Brother Thomas and my servant here you are in safe hands.’

  ‘Anna,’ he said. ‘Anna, I am so glad to be with you. There is so much that I need to find out about you. So much . . .’ His eyes closed and suddenly he seemed completely exhausted.

  Brother Thomas returned to the treatment room with the draught. ‘A pinch of opium poppy and camphor, yarrow and lime blossom against the fever. It will be best if he sleeps as much as possible.’

  Anna nodded agreement and Brother Thomas carefully helped the patient sip the draught. Afterwards Chassim sank back on his bed of straw murmuring incomprehensible words.

  Brother Thomas said to Anna: ‘I will stay with him. You should go to bed, you’ve had an exhausting day.’ His expression showed concern. ‘If the fever keeps mounting, things will become dangerous.’

  ‘I know that. Please wake me if his condition changes.’

  Anna stood up and with a last glance at Chassim, left the treatment room and climbed up to her bed chamber.

  Chapter XIV

  The next day the sun woke Anna, shining through Aaron’s outrageously expensive glass window. It had to be quite late, she thought, so slightly annoyed at not having been called earlier, she got up quickly. Even before freshening up in the bathhouse, she hurried to the treatment room, where she found Brother Thomas washi
ng Chassim’s upper body and face.

  ‘Why did you not call me?’ she asked reproachfully.

  ‘There was no reason to do so,’ Brother Thomas replied calmly without interrupting his work.

  ‘Is he still running a fever?’ Anna asked.

  ‘Yes, it has not gone down.’

  ‘How was the night?’ she asked apprehensively and felt Chassim’s hot forehead.

  ‘With the fever so high he no longer knows where he is or who I am. He has uttered your name now and again . . .’ Brother Thomas said pointedly giving her a warning glance. It was clear that he didn’t think much of the situation.

  She deliberately ignored this and instead checked the blood-stained bandage. ‘How is his wound?’

  ‘It oozes slightly,’ Brother Thomas replied. ‘But I did not want to change the bandage without you. We will have to remove the leg splints first.’

  ‘That’s only possible if he is completely sedated,’ Anna remarked.

  ‘I’m afraid we will have to tie him down,’ Brother Thomas said.

  ‘And Berbelin will have to help.’

  ‘I’ll fetch her.’

  He left the room and Anna sat down next to Chassim who was tossing his head from side to side restlessly. Now that she was alone with him she wept seeing his pitiable state. Up to now she had always remembered her mentor Aaron’s advice and kept her distance from her patients. But that was not possible in Chassim’s case.

  ‘My poor blue knight,’ she said sadly and wiped the sweat from his forehead with her sleeve. ‘My beautiful poor blue knight.’

  As she spoke these words he suddenly became quiet and calm and opened his eyes. Anna saw that he was having a perfectly lucid moment.

  ‘Anna,’ he whispered weakly. Anna spoke to him as if he was a little child and stroked his cheeks. ‘Shush!’ she comforted him. ‘Everything will be fine.’

  ‘Yes, Anna, yes.’ He lifted his right hand and lovingly began to touch and feel her face like a blind man would if he wanted to memorise every detail of her eyebrows, cheek bones, brow and hairline. Tenderly he traced the curve of her lips and a shiver both blissful and painful ran down Anna’s spine. She kissed his fingers and let his hand wander to her chin and down to her neck, even though reason told her that she was sitting there as his medica not as his lover. Chassim’s weak fingers had just touched her necklace with the cross and gem in the shape of a drop of blood when his arm sank powerlessly and he fell back into a feverish semi-conscious state.